To the delight of their fans, Lunds and Cabela's, two retailers that already have a strong Minnesota presence, each opened new outlets on Thursday.

The Pioneer Press reports that hundreds of people along with dignitaries including St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman showed up to welcome a new Lunds store to the city. Tres Lund, CEO of the Lunds and Byerly's chain, told the newspaper that the turnout shows that St. Paul residents are eager for a full-service supermarket downtown.

The gourmet grocery is located in downtown St. Paul in the building that formerly housed the city's police headquarters. The store is about half the size of many of the chain's suburban locations.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

Meanwhile, following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, a new Cabela's store opened in Woodbury. A press release from Cabela's promises "a weekend-long celebration featuring outdoor celebrities, events for the entire family, giveaways and more."

Mary Stevens, Woodbury's mayor, tweeted that the grand opening was well attended by excited shoppers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

The new store creates 185 new jobs in Woodbury. In a preview of the opening, the Star Tribune reported that the new 85,000-square-foot store in the Tamarack Village shopping center represents Cabela’s newest retailing concept, a smaller store that gives the retailer improved cost controls and increased profit margins. Cabela’s recently opened three other similar prototypes in South Carolina, Delaware and Georgia and plans 23 more to be built across the country over the next two years.

Cabela's operates 150,000-square-foot-plus megastores in Owatonna and Rogers and a third, smaller store in East Grand Forks.